Stress busting thoughts

If you hate the thought of meditation, don’t have time for yoga and certainly can’t afford a massage, these stress busting thoughts might help ease the intensity during a challenging time.

This time of year is filled with fun, relaxing and letting lose but for many its also a great source of financial and emotional stress. When I start panicking or feeling down in any context I fall back on the same simple thoughts. Although they don’t directly solve any problems they help me take a step back and not get so caught up in the superficial things in life…kind of like a verbal meditation…

Don’t take it all so seriously –A couple of weeks ago I had one first world problem after another, completely quashing the old wives tale that bad things only happen in threes! First the plumbers visit to my caravan resulted in two weeks without hot water or heating. Then one night, the day the plumbing was fixed, I came home from work around midnight, in the pitch black, tired and hormonal. I went to open the door only for the whole thing to come off in my hand and smack me square in the face nearly knocking me out! The next week I got a horrible cold after declaring ‘I never get ill, I haven’t been ill for like five years!’ (Cocky was asking for it!) It was then that in a night of gale force winds a shack that stood outside was blown into the caravan leaving a deep, wide hole in the side. I had a choice, cry or laugh. Telling other people and seeing them crease up made it impossible to hold in the hysterics. Laughter really is the best therapy!

One day you will be dead – Now this might sound a little morbid but bare with me…When your faced with fear of the future, procrastination or doubt remember your own mortality can be really encouraging. When I find myself debating an opportunity ‘What if I fail? What if i look stupid? What if none of it works out?’ I remind myself that I have nothing to lose as one day, who knows when, all of this will be over. So go for it! Got for everything!

Will it matter in 3 months? – Half the things that cause us stress and worry never even materialise let alone have an measurable impact on our lives. We spend time worrying about what other people think, going over and over things we did, what might happen in the future. If it isn’t going to matter in three months then why waste so much energy on it?

Good or bad, everything passes – Not too dissimilar to the point above, remember that no matter how intense the moment feels, it WILL pass. All feelings pass, good or bad. How you feel now will not last forever. Us humans are brilliant at being all consumed by emotions but we can chose to observe the emotion as opposed to becoming it

Ive been knocked down before and I’ve also gotten myself back up – Facing problems, uncomfortable situations and failure is not anything new. You survived it before, again and again, and you will survive this one too

‘A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there’– Author unknown – A stage of discomfort and hardship is usually paving the way for the something new. There are endless quotes about the necessity of hardship I would run out of space. Just remember that discomfort equals growth, even if you can’t feel or see it

These stress busting thoughts, by no means, rid me or the problem directly, but they give me a stronger mindset to deal with the situation without letting it over whelm me and I hope they can do the same for you…